Provides the rationale for California's Foreign Language Framework assertion that a model curriculum for foreign languages includes "instruction in native languages for those students who already speak a language other than English." Special focus is on Spanish instruction for Spanish-speaking college students in California. (55…

Shows that dialectal origin of native Spanish speakers is a stronger predictor of pronoun expression than language contact with English, with particular focus on Spanish speakers living in New York City. Concludes that different Latin American speech communities in New York City are not yet converging into a New York Spanish, but that Spanish in…

Using role play and verbal-report data, this study investigates the sequential organization of politeness strategies of 24 learners of Spanish and whether the learners' ability to negotiate and mitigate a refusal was influenced by length of residence in the target community. Refusal sequences were examined throughout the interaction head acts,…

With the purpose of highlighting the validity and use of student evaluations of teaching (SETs), this article analyzes student grades and student evaluations of teaching performance along with nine other independent variables in the Spanish program of a major university. Data analyzed for this project represents four years of teaching and includes…

The pronunciation and use of /s/ in the isleno dialect of Spanish, a dying language spoken in a small ethnic enclave in southeast Louisiana, is examined. Today, there are fewer than 20 fluent speakers of isleno Spanish, which has been described as a fossilized derivative of the speech of Canary Island peasants with additions from Spanish sailors.…

Advocates abandoning the classroom suppression of dialects of native Spanish-speaking students in the southwestern states, and recommends using dialect as a foundation for developing native language skills. (JB)

David Bilingual Learning Center (Tucson, AZ) blends academic and cultural learning into an enriching experience through an elementary magnet program which teaches language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science in students' native languages of either English or Spanish and then incorporates the second language through a "Language of the…

Presents a psycholinguistic experiment focusing on whether common phonological alterations play a role in native speakers' perceptions of whether two words share a morpheme. Results indicate they are a significant factor in speakers' perceptions of morphemic relatedness. These findings show that phonological generalizations are psychologically…

The type of relatively rapid speech modification sometimes called "accommodation" was examined by tracking change on the part of speakers of Honduran Spanish newly resident among speakers of Northern Mexican Spanish. Final /n/ velarization and spirantization both changed toward local norms, but local contact resulted in greater change…

Investigates whether intermediate Turkish-speaking and English-speaking learners of Spanish know which unaccusative verbs alternate in transitivity and which ones do not, and whether they find causative errors natural with intransitive verbs. Results confirm similar findings to those reported in English interlanguage and first-language acquisition…

Presents two studies on the acquisition of null subjects by English adult learners of Spanish. Findings lend support to grammatical, as opposed to probabilistic, approaches to language learning. (Author/VWL)

Looks at what constitutes near-native language skill for students looking for jobs and for those hiring them, with particular reference to Spanish. Finds little consensus among search committees or students about the definition of near-native ability. (Author/VWL)

This study sought to extend previous research on ethnographic interviews as a method of culture learning in foreign language classes by employing a qualitative case study methodology. Fifty-four university students in a first-year Spanish course worked in pairs to conduct a series of three ethnographic interviews with a native speaker of Spanish.…

This study, a partial replication of Bruhn de Garavito (1999a; 1999b), investigates the second language (L2) acquisition of Spanish reflexive passives and reflexive impersonals by French- and English-speaking adults at an advanced level of proficiency. The L2 acquisition of Spanish reflexive passives and reflexive impersonals by native French and…